Deflectable beam for forming curved structures



Sept. 21, 1965 F. LITZKA 3,206,888

DEFLECTABLE BEAM FOR FORMING CURVED STRUCTURES Filed Nov. 15, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'IIII/II/Illll INVENTOR. Fr. 2. ll' lkl.

Sept. 21, 1965 F. LITZKA 3,206,888

DEFLECTABLE BEAM FOR FORMING CURVED STRUCTURES Filed Nov. 15, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Franz l-Hzkm.

winter/1, .Qbss 8- 577. 252; M;

United States Patent Office Patented Sept. 21, 1965 DEFLECTABLE BEAM FOR FORMING CURVED STRUCTURES Franz Litzka, Kupferhammer 9, Marktredwitz, Bavaria, Germany Filed Nov. 15, 1962, Ser. No. 237,826 Claims priority, application Germany, Nov. 15, 1961, L 40,479 8 Claims. (Cl. 4627) The invention relates to structural elements for model or toy building sets.

Some known metal building sets for children are formed of perforated metal strips and specially shaped connecting parts, which can be bolted together. Constructional possibilities are limited by the spacing of the perforations and it is not always possible to produce buildings or other objects that closely resemble objects of real life.

Other known construction kits for children contain ready-made parts that can be assembled into one particular configuration only.

Also, there are building outfits employing plastic blocks which can be joined together with press-stud fasteners to form house walls, garden walls and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved structural elements for models or toy building sets, suitably shaped for making realistic models of buildings, bridges and the like in any desired sizes and shapes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a basic structural element that is a small-scale reproduction of a real webbed metal girder and is provided with connection means so that it can be joined to other such elements. These parts should preferably be made of plastic.

The advantage of using a plastic material for such a part is that curved or arched beams can be made, with anydesired radius of curvature, by cutting the web of the girder lengthwise, so that the two halves can be bent out- Ward.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a means of selectively securing the half-beams in this curved or arched position.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a webbed beam according to the invention;

FIGURES 2 to 4 are cross-sections through several variants of the embodiment in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of a half webbed girder;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of the half webbed girder shown in FIGURE 5, after bending;

FIGURES 7 and 8 are side elevations of the halves of a webbed girder curved in different ways;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of a half-girder, secured in the curved position;

FIGURE 10 is a cross-section through the girder shown in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a side elevation of a variant of the girder shown in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 12 is a side elevation of a webbed half-girder and a beam assembled to form a bridge span; and

FIGURES 13, 14 and 15 are side elevations of girders curved to form frame members for ships and similar objects.

The beam shown in FIGURE 1 represents a webbed beam 1, preferably made of plastic, to be used as a structural element in a toy model-making or building set. As shown in FIGURE 2, the beam 21 has a top flange 22, and a bottom flange 23, joined by the web 25. The web contains cut-outs 24 which may be of any desired shape.

Unlike their use in existing structural elements, the cutouts 4, 24 are not merely intended for use in fixing or connecting a number of parts. Primarily, the cut-outs 4, 24 are provided to give the beam a realistic appearance; they can, of course, fulfill another purpose as will be hereinafter described in the production of curved beams.

The cross-section of a beam or girder element according to the invention, may be of any desired shape. FIG- URES 2 to 4 represent only three of the more useful constructions with similar units etc.digits of the reference numerals indicating corresponding parts whose tens, or hundreds, or thousands digits indicate the respective figure. The element in FIGURE 2 is of the characteristic I-shape; the one in FIGURE 3 is of Z-bar shape, flanges 32a and 33a being secured to the web 35 on opposite sides. In the construction shown in FIGURE 4, the bottom flange 43b is bulb-shaped.

A particularly advantageous construction is shown in FIGURES 5 to 8, FIGURE 5 showing a half-girder 51a. The half-member 1a is formed by splitting a webbed beam, such as the girder 1 in FIGURE 1 lengthwise through the middle of the web. In this way the web 55 presents tooth-like projections 56. If the half-girder 51a is bent and the projections 66, are anchored as shown in FIGURE 6, a permanently curved member 61!) results. In this example it has been assumed that the projections 66 each are provided with three cut-outs into which wires or flexible rods 68, or similar means of connection may be inserted. Any desired radius of curvature can be obtained with such half-girders, depending only on the length of each wire 68 which governs the maximum possible distance between two given connecting points of the halfgirder. It is also possible to leave part of the girders straight and bend or curve only a portion in the manner shown in FIGURES 7 and 8. With girders bent as in the manner of 710 in FIGURE 7 arches can be formed for tunnels, doorways and similar openings; it is then only necessary to add some form of covering to obtain a realistic structure.

In a further modification of the invention a girder is only partly split longitudinally, as shown at 81d in FIG- URE 8, and only the separated portions of the beam are curved. In this way columns for vaulted roofs, power pylons and similar objects may be produced which resemble corresponding objects of real use very closely. An arch shape 716 in FIGURE 7 may also be produced from two separate half-girders such as 51a in FIGURE 5 by butting their flanges 72 and holding them together at their joint ends by clips 78a while bending the girder halves apart towards the free ends.

It will be obvious that there are numerous ways of joining whole beams (shown in FIGURE 1) and halfgirders (shown in FIGURE 6), as indicated by the bridge span in FIGURE 12. In this example, the ends 1214 of the curved half-girder 1201b are inserted in suitable slots in the webbed beam 1201 and fixed in place. Struts 1213, which may be loops of wire, can be stretched across from the curved half-girder 1201b, to the webbed beam 1201 to strengthen the former. The method of construction shown in FIGURE 12 is recommended particularly when the constructional parts are of metal. When the parts are made of plastic however, it is possible to use a snap-action type of connection for joining the girders. For example, the undivided beam can be provided with raised ribs so that the curved half-girder which has a corresponding wedge-sectioned strip has only to he slipped into position.

The embodiments shown in FIGURES 9 to 11 are variants of that illustrated in FIGURE 6 and show different means of fixing a half-girder in a curved position. In FIGURES 9 and 10 a curved section 930 is provided with flanges a and 95b which form a slot adapted to receive teeth 96 of the half-girder 91b. Through cutouts 97a, which are in suitable alignment, studs or other pin-shaped connectors are inserted for securing the resulting combination girder 91a in the curved position. The lower section 93c may either be shaped permanently so that the upper half-girder 91b may follow its curvature or may be flexible so that various radii of curvature may be obtained depending on which of the cut-outs 97a is used.

In the example shown in FIGURE 11 boss-like parts 1109 are fitted to the teeth of a half-girder 1101b. A length of cord, wire or other flexible means of connection 11 passes through these parts 1109 and is connected to girder 1101b at a point 1112, while being provided with a stop 1110 which engages one of the bosses 1109 for holding the half-girder in tension and maintaining its curvature.

The tensioning means or elements 68, 907a, 1007a, 1111, 1201, etc., of the respective arcuately deflectable half-girders are less stretchable than the half-girders and have a length less than that between the connecting formations 67, 1109, etc. in the undeflected state of the half-girder. FIGURES 13, 14 and show various examples of curved shapes made from half-girder 1315 or made from combinations of a half-girder and beams 1416 and 1517; elements thus formed can be used as struts, frames or other skeleton structures for building ships, aircraft and other objects.

The invention is, however, not restricted to the elements so far described since these can serve a useful purpose only if suitable means of connection are available. As far as possible these should permit assembly to be carried out without bolts.

I claim:

1. A structural unit for a toy construction set, comprising a flexible profiled half-girder having a generally flat longitudinally extending flange, and a continuous substantially planar web having a free edge of undulating configuration, said web being perpendicular to and integral with said flange, said half-girder being arcuately deflectable in the plane of the Web, said half-girder being provided with at least two longitudinally spaced formations integral therewith in the region of said web; and tensioning means less stretchable than said half-girder and shorter than the distance between said formations when the halfgirder is undeflected, said tensioning means being positionable substantially in the plane of said web for interconnecting said formations and spanning the arc of said half-girder at least between said formations to retain said half-girder in an arcuate condition.

2. A structural unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said web is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced teeth in said plane extending away from said flange and of generally trapezoidal shape, said formations being provided on at least two of said teeth.

3. A structural unit as defined in claim 2 wherein said formations are apertures respectively provided in said two of said teeth, said tensioning means including at least one connecting member receivable in said apertures.

4. A structural unit as defined in claim 3 wherein said apertures are provided in said web generally parallel to said flange and said connecting member is a flexible element extending through said apertures and having stop mean-s at at least one end of said element bearing against one of said teeth for limiting straightening of said halfgirder.

5. A structural unit as defined in claim 3 wherein said connecting member is an elongated element formed with an extremity engageable in said apertures.

6. A structural unit as defined in claim 5 wherein said element has a pair of extremities each engaging in one of said apertures.

7. A structural unit as defined in claim 5 wherein said tensioning means includes a plurality of said elements and a substantially linearly extending beam spanning said half-girder from end to end, said elements interconnecting said web and said beam intermediate the ends of said halfgirder. v

8. A structural unit as defined in claim 7 wherein said ends of said half+girder and said beam are provided with mating abutments limiting straightening of said halfgirder.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 995,437 6/11 Casanova 189-37 1,695,553 12/28 Jones 4626 1,741,423 12/29 Lachman 189-37 1,779,826 10/30 Potter 4628 1,898,297 2/33 Fox 46-25 2,020,562 11/35 Miller 4628 2,202,956 6/40 Lee 4624 2,228,363 1/41 Pinney 50-176 X 2,303,631 12/42 Grant 189-37 2,662,335 12/53 Calverley 46-28 X 2,702,683 2/55 Green 63-1 2,712,200 7/55 Dearling 4628 2,720,105 10/55 Billups 40-453 2,844,910 7/58 Korchak 46-28 2,975,496 3/61 .McGraw 24-2013 3,002,315 10/61 Kuhn 4628 FOREIGN PATENTS 178,591 4/22 Great Britain.

867,795 5/61 Great Britain.

643,875 7/ 62 Canada.

522,937 4/31 Germany.

371,956 6/39 Italy.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A STRUCTURAL UNIT FOR A TOY CONSTRUCTION SET, COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE PROFILED HALF-GIRDER HAVING A GENERALLY FLAT LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING FLANGE, AND A CONTINUOUS SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR WEB HAVING A FREE EDGE OF UNDULATING CONFIGURATION, SAID WEB BEING PERPENDICULAR TO AND INTEGRAL WITH SAID FLANGE, SAID HALF-GIRDER BEING ARCUATELY DEFECTABLE IN THE PLANE OF THE WEB, SAID HALF-GIRDER BEING PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST TWO LONGITUDINALLY SPACED FORMATINS INTEGRAL THEREWITH IN THE REGION OF SAID WEB; AND TENSIONING MEANS LESS STRETCHABLE THAN SAID HALF-GIRDER AND SHORTER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID FORMATIONS WHEN THE HALFGIRDER IS UNDEFLECTED, SAID TENSIONING MEANS BEING POSITIONABLE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF SAID WEB FOR INTERCONNECTING SAID FORMATIONS AND SPANNING THE ARC OF SAID HALF-GIRDER AT LEAST BETWEEN SAID FORMATIONS TO RETAIN SAID HALF-GIRDER IN AN ARCUATE CONDITION. 